Charles E. Wilbour (1833–1896)

Charles Edwin Wilbour (March 17, 1833 – December 17, 1896) was an American journalist and Egyptologist. Wilbour is noted as one of the discoverers of the Elephantine Papyri and the creator of the first English translation of Les Misérables. Born in Little Compton, Rhode Island, he attended Brown University but left before graduating due to health issues. Wilbour began his career as a reporter for the New York Herald Tribune in 1854 and was admitted to the bar in 1859. Notably, he produced the first English translation of Victor Hugo's Les Misérables in 1862–1863.

In the early 1870s, Wilbour became involved in city contracts associated with Tammany Hall during the Tweed Ring era, leading to his self-imposed exile from the United States. He turned his attention to Egyptology, collaborating with prominent figures like Gaston Maspero and conducting extensive explorations along the Nile from 1880 until his death in 1896. Wilbour's collection of Egyptian artifacts and his personal papers were later donated to the Brooklyn Museum, where the Wilbour Library of Egyptology now bears his name.